THE COLOR RED, Clear RCA, It’s a pity that most of the hard rock people get to hear in the mainstream is painfully mediocre. There are surprises from time to time—bands more concerned with their music than the industry’s opinions—but for the most part it’s a pretty sad situation. The Color Red, with their forward-thinking debut Clear, will hopefully join the ranks of bands like Tool and System of a Down: artful bands who create crowdpleasing music without dumbing down their creations for mass consumption.

Read more about The Color Red on Last.fm.